I am a PC enthusiast who doesn’t particularly enjoy FPS games and doesn’t need much computing power. I’ve been tinkering with computers since the 486DX66, while my friends who used to tinker with hardware alongside me now don’t even have a desktop at home. My computer desk has moved from the bedroom to the living room and then to a corner of the balcony, fitting into a 1.2-meter wide, 0.6-meter deep, and 0.45-meter high space… In this space, I’ve squeezed in a CG276 and a pair of MM1 speakers, leaving little room for the main unit, which may be even smaller than the keyboard… Therefore, I have always been very interested in mini PCs, and today I want to share my experience with the NUC 8i5BEK, which is one of the most satisfying mini machines I’ve used in recent years. (For those concerned about the price, I purchased it in mid-December for 2400 RMB)
Those who follow NUC should be familiar with this machine’s specifications. In short, it is like a box version of the MBP 2018. Yes, this NUC platform, codenamed Bean Canyon, has hardware parameters almost identical to those of the recently released MBP 2018 from Apple: 4C8T i5 8259U, Iris Plus 655 with 128eDRAM, natively supporting Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1.
In terms of expansion: Internal: DDR4 slots * 2 (DDR4 2400 1.2V max 32G), M.2 2242/2280 * 1 (supports Optane and NVMe protocols), SATA 6G * 1; External: USB 3.1 * 4 (front and back), HDMI 2.0 * 1, Thunderbolt 3 * 1, GBLAN * 1, analog audio output * 1, TF card reader * 1.
The air intakes on both sides of the chassis are quite large.
The bottom cover is the only part of the 8i5BEK shell made of metal, with four screws featuring rubber pads to provide shock absorption and anti-slip, which is soft yet resilient, giving it a good texture.
The package includes a VESA mount, convenient for ‘backpack’ setups. This bulky adapter is something many people may complain about, with a maximum output power of 19V * 4.74A = 90W, much larger than the previous generation NUC’s 65W, and also much uglier. However, after testing the peak power consumption of the machine, I can confidently tell everyone that 65W cannot power the 8i5BEK. The 90W adapter provided this time is scientifically justified. Fortunately, the cable of this adapter is very flexible and feels good. Anyway, as it will be placed behind the monitor, out of sight, a larger size is acceptable. Why not use a TYPE-C interface for power? What a pity!
The metal bottom cover comes with M.2 SSD thermal silicone pads, which is quite considerate and practical; it would be even nicer if they were a bit wider.
Although the BEK is the slim version (the fat version is the BEH), the package does not include SATA cables. However, the motherboard still retains the standard SATA interface and a small 5PIN power port, so as long as you can find the right cables, you can use SATA devices. I believe you can still find them on Alibaba.
The Intel 9560 wireless Bluetooth module is soldered onto the motherboard (which is a bit troublesome for hackintosh users).
Let’s stop disassembling here; I’ve gotten lazy and don’t plan to replace the thermal paste, it’s too troublesome.
I happen to have an idle SM961 256G and MT DDR4 2666 4G * 2 on hand, so they fit perfectly.
To drive the CG276, which has a 2K resolution, I can only use DVI or DP. The 8i5BEK does not have a DP interface, so the DELL DA300 came in handy (if the connection can provide 5V 3A power, it can run at full power).
Just a brief mention of the testing platform: 1. NUC 8i5BEK (BIOS BECFL357.86A.0056) 2. 4G DDR4 2400 * 2 3. SM961 256G 4. Win10 Pro 18095. All drivers are the latest from Intel’s official website.
This is my first time using an Intel NUC product. My first impression upon entering the BIOS is still that phrase, ‘Wow, not bad!’ The theme is grand, the layout is clear, and there are quite a few adjustable parameters, making it quite fun.
I tried changing the fan control strategy, but even though I changed it to a more aggressive control mode, it did not achieve the expected results, so I reverted to Balanced, and the following tests were also based on the Balanced strategy for controlling speed.
After setting IGD Aperture to 2048, the screen went garbled upon reboot (the NUC factory mode is activated by pressing the power button for more than 3 seconds until the factory mode menu appears). Later, I found out through relevant information that the default should be 64MB or 256MB, and WIN10 will automatically allocate video memory in the system.
The front panel indicator lights can change colors, the power button indicator can only be blue and amber, while the hard drive indicator can choose various colors, and the flashing strategy can also be changed.
Entering the system, let’s first look at the CPU-Z detection data: i5 8259U, base frequency 2.3G, 4C8T, TDP 28W (later we can see through XTU that the default Power Limit is 30W); maximum turbo frequency: 1-2 cores 3.8G, 3 cores 3.7G, 4 cores 3.6G. The theoretical performance test is already close to last generation’s god CPU i7 4790K; Intel is indeed in a hurry with the 8th generation Core (AMD Yes)!
The CB R15 test score is also stable, just slightly worse than the performance in CPU-Z, slightly lagging behind the i7 4770K.
AIDA64 cache and memory bandwidth test data, which can be referenced if needed.
GeekBench test scores; personally, I have no concept of this software’s scores.
AIDA64 stress test processor screenshot shortly after starting, 4 cores at full load at 3.6G, power consumption approaching 70W, temperature skyrocketing until it hits the wall…
AIDA64 stress test processor later screenshot, after full load and hitting the wall, the frequency dropped to 3G, temperature, frequency, and power consumption remained stable, with the power meter showing around 50W.
Using XTU for performance benchmarking, we can intuitively see the power wall hit at full load.
Now let’s take a look at the power consumption of the Iris Plus 655 integrated graphics. During the XTU graphical stress test, GPU TDP remained stable at 20-21W (UHD630 shows 12W in XTU), with the power meter consistently showing around 40W. The integrated graphics frequency remained stable at the maximum of 1000MHZ.
AIDA64 GPU stress test, GPU TDP power consumption remained under 20W, frequency also stable at 1000MHZ. Finally, to double test the machine, let’s see if this short-distance sprinter can maintain stability in a long-distance run, providing us with a smooth experience. The game I chose is the only one I still play occasionally—League of Legends.
Not to look at the monitoring data yet; although the gaming time was only about 20 minutes, the experience was very smooth throughout, whether in team battles or during the final assault on the opponent’s crystal, there was no stuttering at all. I believe this indicates two points: first, the UHD655, Intel’s strongest integrated graphics, can indeed handle entry-level games; second, the 8i5BEK has found a balance among power consumption, performance, and temperature control, maintaining stable operation. During the game, I also glanced at the power consumption screen, which hovered around 50W, and I didn’t notice any fan noise during gameplay. Through this gaming experience, I dispelled my biggest doubt about the NUC—looking good but not functional. Very nice indeed!
Looking back at the monitoring data, it is clear that shortly after the game started, it hit the wall, and the U’s frequency dropped to 3G, stabilizing between 2.8G-3G. The FPS only dropped significantly in a few large scenes, but the lowest frame rate had no impact on the smoothness of the game. Overall, Intel has set the wall position for the 8259U very accurately, finding a relatively satisfactory balance among performance, heat, and power consumption, and also effectively suppressing the likelihood of high fan speeds. The high load norm for the 8i5BEK is around 50W power consumption and around 80C temperature, and the noise from the cooler at this state is not significant. I tried raising the power wall to stress both CPU and GPU, and the total power consumption immediately rose to over 70W, with temperatures exceeding 100C, and the fan went into overdrive without cooling down. Running at full speed becomes meaningless.
Therefore, I recommend using the 8i5BEK with all defaults; there’s no need to push the limits, as Intel’s 8259U is already very strong and sincere.
Due to the astonishing similarity in hardware between the 8i5BEK and the MBP 2018, many friends are eager to install the latest macOS system. A preview: this machine can indeed support Hackintosh and runs Mojave 10.14.2 perfectly! However, as mentioned earlier, due to the onboard Intel AC9560 module, there are two options for the wireless part: 1. Purchase a USB wireless network card without drivers, but the Apple exclusive features like airdrop and handoff will be lost, and the wireless performance will only be acceptable. 2. Install a suitable wireless card in the M.2 port, while using the SATA interface for storage, but this is quite a large project and not without difficulty (1. The internal space of the BEK is tight, and the placement of the SATA hard drive is concerning; 2. The SATA power cable is not included with the BEK, requiring self-purchase; 3. The Bluetooth driver requires manual jumper connections). Updates will follow later…
